High-Rate Space-Time Coded Large MIMO Systems: Low-Complexity Detection and Channel Estimation

TL;DR

This paper introduces a low-complexity detection and channel estimation scheme for large MIMO systems with high spectral efficiency, demonstrating near-capacity performance even for 16x16 and 32x32 STBC configurations.

Contribution

The paper proposes a novel multistage likelihood ascent search detector and iterative channel estimator tailored for large STBC MIMO systems, enabling practical high-rate wireless communication.

Findings

Achieves high spectral efficiencies over 20 bps/Hz with low complexity

Demonstrates near-capacity performance in large MIMO configurations

Effective decoding of large perfect codes using the proposed methods

Abstract

In this paper, we present a low-complexity algorithm for detection in high-rate, non-orthogonal space-time block coded (STBC) large-MIMO systems that achieve high spectral efficiencies of the order of tens of bps/Hz. We also present a training-based iterative detection/channel estimation scheme for such large STBC MIMO systems. Our simulation results show that excellent bit error rate and nearness-to-capacity performance are achieved by the proposed multistage likelihood ascent search (M-LAS) detector in conjunction with the proposed iterative detection/channel estimation scheme at low complexities. The fact that we could show such good results for large STBCs like 16x16 and 32x32 STBCs from Cyclic Division Algebras (CDA) operating at spectral efficiencies in excess of 20 bps/Hz (even after accounting for the overheads meant for pilot based training for channel estimation and turbo coding) establishes the effectiveness of the proposed detector and channel estimator. We decode perfect codes of large dimensions using the proposed detector. With the feasibility of such a low-complexity detection/channel estimation scheme, large-MIMO systems with tens of antennas operating at several tens of bps/Hz spectral efficiencies can become practical, enabling interesting high data rate wireless applications.